Local News

Suspected tornado slams Holyoke Airport

City unsure of damage costs

An airplane was overturned at the Holyoke airport after the severe weather on Monday night. (Sandy Triplette / For the Sterling Journal-Advocate)

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Airport was hit with what city and Phillips County officials believe was a tornado Monday night, sending debris from planes and hangars askew across a large area.

City Superintendant Mark Brown said they were unsure how much the damage cost the airport. But at least three hangars - possibly four - and two planes were described as a "total loss," with another two planes and a car damaged.

"It almost had to be a tornado," Brown said, although there wasn't a confirmed report of a touchdown. "There are parts of a hangar destroyed that were found in three different directions a quarter mile away. I can't imagine that being caused by wind shear."

Miraculously, no one was injured with all the damage. The airport is unmanned, and the couple of businesses that operate out of it close in the evening, before the apparent tornado hit.

Wind and snow has prevented the city from making any repairs to the airport over the past two days, and Brown couldn't say when any work would start.

Still, Mark reported the rest of the city has had power restored since 1:30 Tuesday morning.